It’s hard to believe it’s been 50 years since the release of The Stepford Wives, a film based on the 1972 novel of the same name by Ira Levin. It might not be to everyone’s taste, but its lasting cultural influence is undeniable. A psychological horror/thriller with a hint of sci-fi, the film spawned multiple made-for-TV sequels and a campy 2004 remake, as well as inspiring one of the main characters in the hit series Desperate Housewives. The term “Stepford wife” became part of our shared cultural lexicon, and Jordan Peele even cited the film as one of the key influences for his 2017 masterpiece Get Out.
(Spoilers below for the novel and both film adaptations.)
Levin’s novels were a hot commodity in Hollywood at the time, especially after the success of his most famous novel, Rosemary’s Baby (1967), adapted into a 1968 horror film starring Mia Farrow. (The novels A Kiss Before Dying, The Boys from Brazil, Sliver, and Levin’s play Deathtrap were also adapted to film.) The plot of the The Stepford Wives film follows the novel’s plot fairly closely.
Katharine Ross stars as Joanna Eberhart, a young wife and mother and aspiring photographer who moves with her family to the seemingly idyllic fictional Connecticut suburb of Stepford at her husband Walter’s (Peter Masterson) insistence. She bonds with sassy fellow newcomer Bobbie (Paula Prentiss) over scotch and Ring Dings (and their respective messy kitchens), mutually marveling at the vacuous behavior of the other neighborhood’ wives.
There are soon hints that all is not right in Stepford. Carol (Nanette Newman) has a bit too much to drink at a garden party and begins to glitch. Together with dissatisfied trophy wife Charmaine (Tina Louise), Joanna and Bobbie hold a women’s “consciousness raising” meeting (aka a bitching session), only to have it devolve into the other wives raving about the time-saving merits of Easy On spray starch. Meanwhile, Walter has joined the exclusive Stepford Men’s Association and becomes increasingly secretive and distant.
When Charmaine suddenly transforms into yet another vapid housewife after a weekend getaway with her husband, Joanna and Bobbie become suspicious and decide to investigate. They discover that there used to be a women’s group in Stepford—headed by Carol, no less—but all the transformed wives suddenly lost interest. Is it something in the water causing the transformation? That turns out to be a dead end, but one clue is that the creepy head of the Men’s Association, Dale “Diz” Coba (Patrick O’Neal), used to work for Disney building animatronics. (When Diz first tells Joanna about his background, she says she doesn’t believe it: “You don’t look like someone who enjoys making people happy.” Her instincts are correct.)